This invention relates to a combination system of the type comprising a first set of parts each having a combinational code and a second set of parts each having a combinational code wherein the second parts may be randomly coupled on a one-to-one basis with the first parts with a given condition occurring only when the two coupled first and second parts have the same codes, and deals more particularly with such a combination system wherein the parts are coded according to a unique set of rules permitting a vast number of different combinations while assuring that the stated condition will be achieved only when two coupled first and second parts have the same code.
The combination system of the invention has particular utility when used in a matching type game or instructional device wherein the first set of parts is comprised of a plurality of coded receivers contained in a gameboard and the second set of parts consists of a set of coded plugs or the like randomly insertable in the receivers with the receivers each having a question somehow associated with it and with the plugs each having an answer somehow associated with it, or vice versa. The invention also has utility in a locking system wherein the first set of parts is comprised of a set of receivers in the form of locks and the second set of parts is a set of plugs in the form of keys. Therefore, for convenience the invention is disclosed and described herein as embodied in both a game device and in a lock and key system, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such applications and that it may instead be used in other applications requiring or lending themselves to the use of a combination system.
Various objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.